The Letter
by Pastor Calvin
Summary: Jack's Grandfather writes a letter about 12 years before he dies. When Jack recieves this letter, he finds out many of his grandfathers secrets, many tales of his life, and how he met the Jesus Christ. Chapter 6 up (After Just About A YEAR!) Please R
1. Beginnings

Chapter 01  
  
"Dear Jack,  
  
As I write this letter, I see you outside, playing with Karen. You two seem to get along so well, and yet, there is just something I can't quite put my finger on. I was so overjoyed when your father told me you would be able to come down here for the summer. It is not very often I get to see you. As a matter in fact, I haven't seen you since you were about 2 years of age. My goodness, has it actually been that long? As I am writing this letter, you are about six.  
  
I wish to tell you many story's, story's of my life, and how I came to know the Lord. Unfortunately, you are not yet ready to hear them. It is such a burden having to restrain from telling you these things. However, I fear that by the time you are old enough, I will be gone, and my story's will be gone with me. As you may know, I have been suffering from some heart disease that even the doctors on mainland don't entirely understand. It has one of these really long, and seemingly meaningless names that virtually nobody will take the time, or effort to remember.  
  
This is the reason I am leaving you this letter. I sincerely doubt that by the time you receive this letter, you will have come to know Jesus. I know your father never accepted the idea that there could be a god. "No," he used to say, "you can't prove it." To top it off, there is another religion on this island which hindered his spiritual growth. This religion worships someone they call 'the goddess'. It was some old religion followed by farmers from some other place, a place far, far away."  
  
The old wooden door burst open as Jack and his friend, Karen Miller, ran across the hardwood floor towards the kindly old grandfather. The room was well lit by sunlight shining through the window. This house was of the sort that had seen many days, and weathered many a storm. A house in which children had grown up, and now, grandchildren. It was rather old, but warm, and cozy, and altogether a friendly house.  
  
"Grandpa!" cried little Jack as his tugged at his grandfathers leg. "Grandpa, will you please come and play with us? Please!" He begged, his brown eyes looking expectantly up at his grandfather. His grandfather's face had many wrinkles, and Jack had always wondered why old people had wrinkles.  
  
The elderly man smiled warmly, his old eyes twinkling in the sunlight as he looked down at his grandson. He was a spitting image of himself at Jack's age. He was a small critter, and a tuft of his brown hair always seemed to stick out from under his navy blue cap. "All right," Jack's grandfather answered as he put down his pen and paper. "What would you like to play?"  
  
Karen boldly stepped forward. "We wanna play house," she promptly responded as she folded her hands behind her back. Karen had brown hair with blond streaked bangs. She actually quite liked her hair that way. Her mother had always told her what a lucky girl she was to have hair like that.  
  
"All right," Jack's grandfather agreed as he got down on his hands and knee's.  
  
"Goody!" Karen squealed with glee as she jumped up and down excitedly and clapped her hands. "You get to be the horsy!"  
  
"I want to be the daddy!" Jack said.  
  
"Okay, and I'll be the Mom!" Karen replied. "Just a sec," Karen said as she ran over to her white knapsack, which was sitting on a chair in the far corner of the room, and began rummaging around it for something. She quickly returned with her stuffed bunny rabbit. "Jenny can be our baby, okay?"  
  
Jack smiled as he nodded in response.  
  
"Let's say we're all out of food, okay?" said Karen.  
  
"Lets eat the baby!" exclaimed Jack.  
  
"No!" Karen Hollered. "We can ride the horsy into town and get some food," she said, climbing onto the old man's back. Jack promptly followed. "Giddy up," she shouted.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * ". and now, we dedicate Farmer Jack's ashes, to the earth," pastor Brown concluded. "May his soul, rest in peace."  
  
Jack sighed as he watch some men lower the wooden box that contained the ashes of his grandfather, the man after whom he had been named, into the earth. It had been nearly twelve years since he had last visited this island. He hadn't seen much of his grandfather because his dad seemed to hate the man for some reason, yet Jack was unsure of why. His train of thought was suddenly interrupted by a sweet, yet familiar feminine voice.  
  
"Um, Hello."  
  
Jack spun around to face a brown haired girl, with streaks of blond in her bangs. She appeared to be about his age. "Hello," he responded, forcing a smile, and wiping a lone tear from his eye.  
  
"My name's Karen," the girl said. "What's yours?"  
  
"Jack, Jack Davis," he said as he stretched out his hand.  
  
Karen tried to put on a smile as she shook Jack's hand. "I'm sorry about your grandpa and all."  
  
Jack's half hearted smile quickly vanished. "So am I," he replied, obviously feeling quite sorry for himself. "Um, you know, you look awful familiar, have we met at all before?" Jack asked, trying to change the subject.  
  
Karen grinned broadly. "You don't remember me at all, do you?" Jack shook his head in response. "We used to play together when you came down to visit your grandpa one summer. Oh, I must have been about five at the time."  
  
Jack slowly nodded. His face began to light up. "Yes, now I remember," he said smiling. "As I recall you kept on making grandpa play as the horse." He chuckled at the memory, as did Karen. There was an uneasy moment of silence. It was broken by a distant rumble. Thunder, Jack thought instinctively. Droplets of rain began to splatter on the soft graveyard soil, as the wind began to pick up, playfully tossing the odd leafs here and there.  
  
Karen pulled her thin Jacket tightly around her, and shivered. "Ooh," Karen groaned. "Look's like a storm is brewing. Do you have anywhere to stay?"  
  
Jack shook his head. "No, but I could always go to the bar."  
  
It was Karen's turn to shake her head. "It's closed today. Say, how about you come to my house until the reading of the will."  
  
"Sounds like a plan," replied Jack as they began to walk. There was a loud clap of thunder, and the rain began to beat down even harder than before. Karen and Jack changed from a walking pace to running. As they ran, the wind picked up, and the falling rain felt like hail against Jacks cold flesh. They ran on as the storm worsened.  
  
Another deafening clap of thunder rang out, and the two still had about a mile to go before they reached Karen's house.  
  
"This way!" Karen screamed against the wind. They saw a girl with a long, blond ponytail enter the shack that was just a short distance away. They ran up to the shack, and Karen began to pound on the door. "Ann! Ann!" she screamed. The door opened up.  
  
"Karen. Come in," she promptly invited as soon as she saw who it was. Neither Karen nor Jack hesitated with their entry. Ann pushed the door shut, and took the soaking wet coats of Jack and Karen. "Who's your friend?" she asked Karen.  
  
"Oh, his name is Jack. I know him from about 12 years back when he came to visit his grandpa Jack,"  
  
Ann nodded as she pulled back a curtain and peered out the window. The storm was growing ever worse. The trees were swaying back and fourth ferociously. The little shack which they were in creaked loudly. They would most likely have to cancel the reading of the will as far as Ann was concerned. The lights flickered, and then went out all together. Ann blurted out an extremely colourful swearword as she felt around the room for a candle.  
  
A/N: Well, how was that for a first chapter? Many of you are probably saying "No! Not another Christian Harvest Moon Story!" Well, I just had a new idea for a story, and this was the best category in FF.net to post it under. Believe me, I am going to make this story different from REVIVAL IN FLOWERBUD, and SEARCH FOR SALVATION. (Those are good story's too. Go and read them.) But that's all I am going to say for now, otherwise I may give away too much of the plot. Please Read & Review! 


	2. A New Home

Chapter 02  
  
The sun began to gradually peeked up over the wet horizon. The light of a new day shone upon the rooster. Yawning, he stood up a ruffled his dew covered feathers. The other hens were still sleeping peacefully in the old hen house. The thing he seemed to love about the morning was that it was so peaceful, and beautiful. Quietly, he scurried out of the henhouse, as if surveying the damage of last nights storm. A few branches were strewn about, along with the odd shingle and piece of siding. Not much surprisingly.  
  
By this time, almost half of the sun was above the horizon. He scurried across the barn yard towards the wooden shack. Up the slippery woodpile he ran, until at last, he found himself perched upon the windowsill. He dutifully filled his lungs with the damp air and-  
  
"COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!"  
  
Jack was startled by the sudden shriek emanating from the window, and fell right off the couch.  
  
"Ouch!" came a sudden cry from under him.  
  
"Sorry!" Jack exclaimed as he crawled off from on top of Karen, who had been sleeping peacefully on the floor. Sleeping peacefully that is, until Jack fell onto her legs. "You okay?" Jack asked, kneeling down beside Karen.  
  
She slowly sat up, shivering as she pulled the blankets around her. It was a bit chilly inside the shack. "I'm fine," she replied. "Next time though, watch where you're going. Okay?"  
  
"Right," Jack responded, still thinking this over. He surveyed the room he found himself in. In the far corner, there was a brown, animal skin hammock, which Ann slept in. He didn't get much further surveying the room than that before a knock was heard at the door.  
  
Karen swiftly got to her feet, ran to the door, and opened it.  
  
"Hello Karen," said the man. He was not much taller than Jack, although he looked several years older. He wore a blue mailman outfit, and carried a brown bag with several letters in it. He was obviously a mailman.  
  
"Harris! It's a bit early to be delivering letters, isn't it?" Karen asked.  
  
"Um, have you seen a young man by the name of Jack, have you?" He asked.  
  
"Yeah, as a matter in fact he's right here," she relied, pointing over in Jack's general direction.  
  
"Good. Hello Jack, My name's Harris," the man said as Karen stepped aside, allowing for him to enter.  
  
"Nice to meet you sir," Jack replied as he shook Harris's hand.  
  
"Likewise. I have a copy of your grandfather's will here for you, since you couldn't make it to the meeting last night," he said digging out a large, brown envelope and handing it to Jack. "Everything in the will that regards you has been highlighted for your convenience. Good day sir," said the Mailman. And with that, he left.  
  
"Let's see it!" Karen asked eagerly as she shut the door. Ann yawned and hopped out of her hammock.  
  
Jack tore open the envelope. The will read as follows:  
  
"If you are reading this, It means I have died, and gone to a better place. I leave my possessions to the following people.  
  
Harris, I leave you my mailbox. No, just kidding. I leave to you my horse, since you were the only other soul on this earth he liked. And I've overheard you in the bar on a number of occasions talking about how having a horse would make your life a whole lot easier.  
  
Lillia, I leave to you my prized water melon seeds which are in the cabinet, top shelf to the left in a glass jar.  
  
Mr. Green, I leave to you my cattle which you have spent so much time helping me raise. I know you will take good care of them.  
  
Ann Green, I leave you my chickens, considering you loved them so terribly much.  
  
Sasha Miller, I leave to you my entire collection of wine recipe books (which were lovingly made by my wife), all except for "Great Old Wines Of The East".  
  
Karen Miller, you were like a granddaughter to me, and I leave to you my stuffed rabbit, Mr. Freckles. The one you loved to play with when you were only about as high as my knee. I know it's not much, but I am sure you will still love it as you once had.  
  
And finally, to Jack, my one and only grandson. The farm is yours. The house, the land, and the old buildings out back, and everything left on it. (Yes, even "Great Old Wines Of The East" recipe book your grandmother wrote, and my cat, Toby) I leave the farm to you to run. It is a great responsibility. I pray with all of my heart you will take it over, because that farm has been in the family for almost forever. (Well, since my father anyway. But I built that house)  
  
These are my wishes, and I ask that you all respect them.  
  
Signed: Jack P. Davis"  
  
"Wow," Ann said quietly after reading the letter over. "The farm is."  
  
"Mine." Jack quietly finished.  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
Jack proudly surveyed his farm. It wasn't much to look at, but it was his, and he had the deed in his hand to prove it if anyone dared to challenge him, which of course, no one did. His grandfather had indeed left this farm looking lush and green. Unfortunately, most of the lushness and greenness came from the weeds in the field.  
  
Toby wandered over to Jack and began to rub up against him. "Meow?" Jack grinned as he picked up the cat.  
  
"Well, at least something worthwhile is still alive here," he said. Jack had to be honest with himself. The farm was, as much as he hated to admit it, pretty pathetic. The houses paint was peeling, and badly needed re-shingling. The barn looked a whole lot different than Jack remembered it. In fact, it looked brand new. Jack stepped into his house with his cat.  
  
The interior of the house had hardly changed a bit since he was last here. In fact, the interior was in prime shape. Jack grinned as he tossed his knapsack onto the couch. It was warm and cozy just as he remembered it. "Well, may as well begin unpacking," he said, unzipping his knapsack.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Bang! Bang! Bang! Jack sat up in bed and looked around for a moment. Two days on this island, and every time he woke up, he thought that he was back in the city. He swiftly threw his covers off and went to the door.  
  
"Hello," he said, somewhat groggily as he opened the door. He saw Karen standing there.  
  
"Good morning. I trust you slept well."  
  
"What time is it?" Jack asked.  
  
"It's about eleven or so," she replied.  
  
"Eleven." Jack muttered. He would have to get a clock, and soon. His grandfather seemed to always be able to tell time by the sun. "Well, I suppose I should get used to the idea that people here don't sleep till three in the afternoon. Come in," he said, gesturing to the room.  
  
"Thank you," Karen curtly as she stepped inside.  
  
Jack had entered the room off to the left, leaving Karen in the main room. She looked around at it, as she had done so many times before. Jack had left most of the things as they were, however, several of the objects were gone. There were a few objects that were new. Not much, no. Jack had not been planning to live here when he first came.  
  
He emerged from the room a moment later, wearing his shirt and jeans. He carried his blue pyjamas in his left arm. "So, what brings you here?"  
  
Karen turned away from the black and white photograph of Jack's grandmother, to face Jack. "Well, I suppose that I mainly came here to get Mr. Freckles," she replied guiltily. She rather disliked going to peoples houses just to receive something, it just didn't seem right.  
  
Jack nodded. "Yeah, I'm not sure where he is. If you'd like, we could look for him."  
  
Karen nodded in agreement.  
  
Jack went over to the bedside table and opened it, then proceeded to look under the bed. Karen, meanwhile, checked in the cabinet which a lone cookbook lay. She opened the bottom cupboard door. There was the old, worn, stuffed rabbit. "I found him," she called over to Jack.  
  
Jack got up off the floor, and walked over to where she sat, holding the toy. He smiled broadly as he knelt down beside her. "I remember that rabbit." Jack sighed as he recalled some of his happy childhood memories. "What's this?" he asked as he looked to the floor. There was a brown envelope laying at Karen's feet. He gingerly reached out and picked it up.  
  
Karen looked at it as Jack turned the fat envelope around in his hands, examining it. It was labelled, "TO JACK. FROM YOUR GRANDFATHER." She then looked to Jack. His face had a look of utter disbelief on it. And wonder.  
  
A/N: Well, how was that for chapter 2? Was the cliff hanger any good? Well, coments, suggestions, ect. are more then welcome. Hopefully the next chapter will be underway soon. 


	3. Lemurs

Chapter 03  
  
Jack held the envelope in his hands as he staggered over to the couch, still overwhelmed by the fact that he had found a letter left to him by his grandfather. Karen sat down beside him as Jack gingerly opened the brown envelope, and removed the thick letter. Jack was amazed at how thick it was, he estimated that there must be at least enough content to make a novel. After a moment, he began to read aloud.  
  
"Dear Jack,  
  
As I write this letter, I see you outside, playing with Karen. You two seem to get along so well, and yet, there is just something I can't quite put my finger on. I was so overjoyed when your father told me you would be able to come down here for the summer. It is not very often I get to see you. As a matter in fact, I haven't seen you since you were about 2 years of age. My goodness, has it actually been that long? As I am writing this letter, you are about six.  
  
I wish to tell you many story's, story's of my life, and how I came to know the Lord. Unfortunately, you are not yet ready to hear them. It is such a burden having to restrain from telling you these things. However, I fear that by the time you are old enough, I will be gone, and my story's will be gone with me. As you may know, I have been suffering from some heart disease that even the doctors on mainland don't entirely understand. It has one of these really long, and seemingly meaningless names that virtually nobody will take the time, or effort to remember.  
  
This is the reason I am leaving you this letter. I sincerely doubt that by the time you receive this letter, you will have come to know Jesus. I know your father never accepted the idea that there could be a god. "No," he used to say, "you can't prove it." To top it off, there is another religion on this island which hindered his spiritual growth. This religion worships someone they call 'the goddess'. It was some old religion followed by farmers from some other place, a place far, far away."  
  
Jack suddenly stopped reading and slipped it back into his envelope.  
  
"Aren't you going to continue?" Karen asked.  
  
Jack shook his head. "No. Not right now."  
  
"Jack, is everything all right?" Karen asked with genuine concern in her voice.  
  
Jack nodded as he forced a weak smile. "Yeah. I'll be fine. I just need a little time, that's all,"  
  
Slowly, Karen nodded. "Well, okay. I guess I'll see you later then."  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
  
The forest seems so peaceful, Jack thought as he wandered through the brush, trampling moss, and snapping twigs. Well, almost, except for me, He thought to himself. Up ahead, Jack could hear voices. They sounded like the mayor and his wife. I've only been here a week, and I've already gotten to know almost everybody. Slowly, Jack made his way to the clearing. "Drat!" he said aloud.  
  
The mayor and his wife, who were sitting at a picnic table just behind the bar, turned to see who, or what, had just said that. "Why, hello Jack!" The mayor said with a smile on his face. "What brings you here?"  
  
Jack brushed himself off as he made his way towards the Mayor. "Hello. I was trying to find the cave, and I kind of got lost."  
  
"Trying to find the harvest sprites?"  
  
"Harvest sprites?"  
  
"You know. No," said the mayor shaking his head, "I don't suppose that you would. I'll tell you about them. They are kind of like little elves or, um. Oh what are those things from Ireland called?"  
  
"I'm not sure what you mean," replied the Mayors wife.  
  
"Leprechaun's?" Jack piped in.  
  
"Ah yes. They're kind of like those. But you won't actually find any,"  
  
"Why not?" asked Jack, his interest beginning to grow.  
  
"Because they're not real!" Laughed the mayor.  
  
Jack felt extremely foolish at this moment. "Oh, right." he said sheepishly.  
  
"Anyway," began the mayor, "If you want to get to the cave, you'll want to head straight north from here to the river. Once you reach the river, follow it east until you meet a bridge. Go over the bridge, and there should be a clearing there, that's where the cave entrance should be. If you wind up at the beach, then you've gone too far, so just backtrack along the river until you reach the bridge. Got it?"  
  
Jack nodded. "Yeah, I think so."  
  
"Good. Happy trails then."  
  
"Thanks," replied Jack as he re-entered the forest.  
  
The mayor and his wife continued talking, and Jack continued walking.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
  
"There you are!" Karen exclaimed as Jack approached the mouth of the cave.  
  
"Sorry I'm late," replied Jack. "I got lost. Anyway, why'd you want me to meet you here?"  
  
"We haven't seen each other much since we found that letter of yours, and I thought it might be nice for us to catch up on times."  
  
Jack mentally cringed at the thought of the letter. He had been putting it off as long as humanly possible, as well as trying to keep it at the back of his mind. Carefully sweeping the letter to the back of his mind (again), Jack focused on the present. "Why in a cave?" he questioned. "Why not, let's say, in a meadow?"  
  
"Meadows are boring. And besides, I want to show you something," she said as she whipped out he flashlight. She began walking into the cave. Jack quickly followed behind her. "What was life like, living in a city?"  
  
"Actually, I come from a small town about 50 miles from a city. But from what I've seen of city's, I'm sure glad I never lived in one. Their crowded, polluted, dirty, full of gays."  
  
"Gays?" Karen burst out laughing at Jacks last remark, leaning against a wall for support. After a moment, she calmed down and quit laughing. "Well, the reason I laugh is that I've. hang on a sec, did I just say laugh?" Jack nodded. "Sorry, I meant ask."  
  
"Getting your mirds wixed up?" Jack asked.  
  
Karen smiled at the odd remark. "Yeah. anyway, the reason that I asked it that I have wanted to move to the city all of my life. They continued on through the maze of passages for about 10 minutes until they reached a pool of water. Karen waded into it without a moments thought, whereas Jack was somewhat more hesitant. "You can swim, right?" She asked.  
  
"Yeah," Jack replied as he waded into the slippery pool. Jack noticed that the water got deep fast. "Hey, Karen."  
  
"Sup?"  
  
"How deep is this water?"  
  
"Over seventy meters. See, when I was about nine, I borrowed my dad's 70 meter rope and tied a rock to one end. I was trying to find out how deep it is, and I lost my grip on the rope before it hit bottom. Let's just say dad was not impressed," she replied.  
  
"Sounds deep, how much further do we have to swim?"  
  
"Not much further," Karen replied. A minute later, they made it to the other side, and crawled out.  
  
Karen shone the flashlight ahead, and Jack saw a small, furry creature scurry away. "Rats?"  
  
Karen shook her head. "No." Karen dimmed her flashlight, and crept towards the furry animals.  
  
"Lots of them. But what are they?"  
  
"Some kind of lemur. Their very friendly though. I had sketched one of them, and done a comparison in the local library, and apparently, they only exist in myths and stuff."  
  
"Harvest Sprites." Jack said, Jokingly.  
  
Smiling, Karen said "I haven't told anybody about my find except for you, and Ann. If very many people ever find out about them, they could become just a myth, for sure. Promise you won't tell anyone. Promise me!"  
  
"Don't worry, I promise,"  
  
"Good."  
  
After a moment of looking at these strange, and amazing creatures, Jack asked "What do you suppose they feed on?"  
  
"I don't know. If you look over there, you can see small passageways. Who knows where it could lead, perhaps even to food sources. Anyway, we should be heading back." Jack nodded in agreement.  
  
A/N: Well, if this is my rendition of a cliff hanger, it kind of sucks in my opinion. How do lemurs fit into the big picture? (Only God and I know) Anyway, sorry that I haven't written in so long. I've just been really really really lazy. But I have a nifty idea that I'm cooking up for the next chapter (which I hope to start very soon). I wasn't even planning on little lemurs, it just sort of happened. And another thing, when Jack says "mirds wixed up", that's not a spelling error. Some of you may have figured that out, others may not have. Reviews are welcome. Tell me what you think. (And thank you so much you peoples who did review before. It means a lot to me.) 


	4. A Dark and Stormy Night

Chapter 04: A dark and stormy night  
  
"Why don't you read it Jack?" chanted the furry little lemurs as they pranced around his house in the dark. "Read it! Read the letter!" they squeaked. One of the lemurs pushed the letter towards Jack.  
  
"Stay Back!" Jack shouted, shaking a stick at them. "I'm warning you." all of a sudden, a surge of fear gripped Jacks body, and he bolted for the front door. Unfortunately, he did not make it to the door. Rather, he hit something where there should not have been anything.  
  
Upon hitting this unknown something, Jack awoke. To his surprise, he found himself on the floor, facing a wall nowhere near the door, and boy did his head hurt. Sighing with relief, Jack stood up and walked over to his bed. It was all a dream. There were no prancing lemurs in his house. Earlier that day, Karen had indeed shown him the lemurs in a cave, that part wasn't a dream. Then, as Jack sat down upon his bed, he saw it. The letter. There was nothing unusual about the letter, it wasn't moving, or breathing, or doing anything else a letter shouldn't do. At that moment, the same feeling of unspeakable dread that Jack had felt in his dream overwhelmed him.  
  
From the very start, Jack feared what that letter may say to him. He knew that it spoke of Jesus, and that's what really scared him. Jesus.  
  
Another clap of thunder sounded outside, and the rain beat down upon the roof even harder than it had before. Glancing at the clock, Jack saw that it was only 11:00. Without hesitating, or even thinking for that matter, Jack got dressed, slipped the letter into a plastic bag, and ran out into the night time down pour.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
The path to the church was clearly marked. One of the few paths in this forest, thought Jack. Then, up ahead, Jack saw the white building. It looked as if someone was still inside, much to Jacks relief.  
  
He opened the large, wooden door, and after a moments hesitation, stepped inside. The candle lit interior had a rather warm, cozy atmosphere. "H-hello?" Jack called out as he walked towards the front of the church. He desperately wanted to flee from this place, to get away as fast as it was humanly possible. But there was something that urged him on.  
  
Quietly, the door to the Pastors office opened up as pastor Jake stepped out. "Good evening Jack."  
  
Startled, Jack turned from the cross at the front of the church, to face Pastor Jake. "Hi." Jack noted that Pastor Jake was not wearing his regular suit that he was usually seen in, but rather, he wore a plad shirt, and a pair of jeans.  
  
"What brings you here on such a rainy night?" asked the Pastor as he walked towards Jack.  
  
"Nightmares," Jack responded.  
  
"Hmm. Something tells me it was more than that."  
  
Sighing, Jack removed the fat envelope from the plastic bag. "Your right. It is more than that."  
  
Pastor Jake sat down next to Jack. "Do you want to talk about it?"  
  
"I have this letter from my grandfather. Quite frankly, I've been avoiding it."  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
"Well. I'm afraid," Jack stopped when he heard himself say this. Afraid. The word echoed in his mind. As much as he hated to admit it, it was the truth. "I'm afraid of what it might say to me. I know that it speaks of Jesus and."  
  
"Hmm. I see. Your afraid that it will condemn you, and throw your errors in your face."  
  
"No!" retorted Jack. He then sighed and hung his head. "Yes."  
  
The Pastor smiled kindly and warmly at Jack. "Jack, I highly doubt that your grandfather would write a letter to condemn you."  
  
"I know. but as soon as I read the word 'Jesus', I was overwhelmed by, a feeling of dread, if you know what I mean."  
  
"Do you know what I think? I think those feelings of dread are induced by Satan himself."  
  
"Satan?" Jack said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "Look, I'm sorry I bothered you." Jack said, slipping the letter back into the plastic bag. "I'll see you later, Pastor Jake." And with that, Jack headed towards the door.  
  
Just as Jake was approaching the door, Pastor Jake called out. "Jack." Jack turned to face him. "If you ever need to talk to anyone."  
  
Jack nodded. "Yeah," replied in almost a whisper. He then left the church.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
  
"Hello? Mr. Green?" Jack said as looked around Mr. Greens shop. The sun shone through the window, illuminating the place. These were the sort of mornings that Jack lived for. Fresh air from rainfall, a bright, warm sun breathing new life into the world.  
  
Mr. Green stepped out from the back room with a heavy sack full of animal feed. "Ah, hello Jack. How's the ranch?"  
  
"It's slow. I finished up clearing the field yesterday."  
  
"I see. Well, you've got a lot of work ahead of you. Your grandpa wasn't able to maintain the place in his later years. I offered to help him when I had the time, but he was a bit too proud. er. no offence intended there Jack. Anyway, what can I do for you?"  
  
"I came here to look into buying a cow."  
  
"We don't sell cows here, at least, not at this time of year," said Mr. Green with a twinkle in his eye.  
  
"What do you mean you don't sell cows? I thought this was a ranch," said Jack in disbelief.  
  
Mr. Green chuckled. "Perhaps I should explain this to you better. A cow is only truly a cow after it has had two calves. Here, we only sell heifers and bulls." Jack was confused. "You see, a heifer is a young, female 'cow'. A bull is a male 'cow'. Understand?"  
  
"I think so. So then, what is a real 'cow'?"  
  
"An actual cow is a heifer that has had two calves, like I said before."  
  
"I see. So, how much does it cost to buy one?" asked Jack.  
  
"Well, I usually charge about $250 for a heifer, and about $400 for a bull. A cow can sell for a lot, all depending on how well it has been raised, and what the market is like. As a general rule, a don't sell full grown cattle here. Usually, I bring them to main land around fall to sell them at the auctions. In fact, that's where most of my revenue comes from," said Mr. Green.  
  
"I see. Well, thank you very much. I'll see you around."  
  
"Not going to buy any cattle then?" asked Mr. Green.  
  
"No, not today. See you later," said Jack as he headed for the door.  
  
"Alright. We'll see you 'round Jack."  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Karen inhaled the fresh, moist air as she admired the scenery of the forest, and listened to the beautiful song of the birds. It was the same scenery that she had seen almost every week of her life. Yet she still enjoyed every bit of it. "I wonder." she thought aloud. "I wonder if I'll ever receive a vision from God, like those people in the bible. I know that God still does grant people with visions.or messages." Karen thought back to what her Sunday School teacher had told her many years ago, about how she had heard Gods voice when praying as to where to send her son for schooling. "I wonder, If I ever do receive a vision, what it will tell me. Will it be where to live, if I should go on to a further education, or what Gods opinion is."  
  
At that moment, Karen was more open to the will of God than she had ever been in her entire life, and she heard a voice. It was in her mind, almost in her own voice, but yet it was distinctly Gods voice. It spoke a very simple, yet very clear message. "If you truly love him, you will tell him of me."  
  
Karen knew exactly who the 'him' was that the voice referred to. "Jack."  
  
A/N: Well, how was that for a cliff hanger? Any good? Anyway, I apologize for taking next to forever to get this chapter up. I 'HOPE' that I can get the next one out sooner than this one. You know that last scene in this chapter where Karen gets a message from God? I based that on something that happened to me about a week ago. I did receive the same message from God (with the one exception of the word 'him'. In my case, it was a 'her'.) Anyway, it was a wonderful experience. I won't elaborate much further, because that would take too long. As for the rest of the story, I'm hoping to get my really "hoopy" idea into the next chapter. I can't tell you what it is. Sorry, but that could spoil some of it. Anyway, until next time, God Bless.  
  
P.S. If you like Online Harvest Moon RPGs, take a peek at my profile. 


	5. Maria

Chapter 5  
  
Maria gently pushed the spaghetti around her plate and sighed. Life, for her, had been dull and repetitive for the past several years. She simply didn't see why her father insisted that she be the librarian. Virtually nobody visits the library much anymore. Well, that wasn't one hundred percent true. There was Jack who was relatively new to the island, and he hasn't read all of the books that were there. And then there was Harris... She smiled weakly as his handsome image flowed soothingly across her mind. Harris visited the library quite frequently now. For the most part, she enjoyed his company.  
  
"Maria, dear, is everything alright? You've hardly touched your spaghetti," asked Mrs. Thompson.  
  
Maria was torn from her thoughts and thrown back into the real world. She looked up from her plate and into her mothers eyes. "Yes mum," Maria answered. She sighed and went back to looking into her plate for a few moments. "Mum, may I please be excused from the table? I'm not really hungry."  
  
Maria's mother smiled and nodded as Maria pushed back her chair and took her dishes over to the sink, and set them on the counter right next to it.  
  
"I'm going to go out and get some fresh air," said Maria just before she exited through the back door.  
  
"Poor kid," Mrs. Thompson remarked. "She looks so depressed... and lonely..."  
  
"Hmm..." said Mayor Thompson as he shoveled another forkful of spaghetti into his mouth. "I haven't noticed."  
  
"Don't you pay the least bit of attention to your daughter?" exclaimed Mrs. Thompson.  
  
"No. After all, as I recall, she's not 'my' daughter. Remember?"  
  
"You shut up!" demanded Mrs. Thompson, her temper flaring. As much as she hated to admit it, her husband was right. He wasn't the father. And she absolutely hated being reminded of this fact.  
  
"Fine!" snorted Mayor Thompson, finishing off his plate of spaghetti. He patted his full stomache in satisfaction. "Really, I don't see why you insist on hiding this from Maria. She does deserve to know."  
  
"Shut up!" shouted Mrs. Thompson. She was on the verge of tears. Having had enough of this, she got up and stormed out of the house. As she was doing so, the phone rang...  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
The bushes rustled slightly. Maria turned to see if she could identify whatever was causing them to do so. "Hello?" she called out as she slowly approached them.  
  
"Meow?" came a reply from the bushes. It obviously was not a cat. Afterall, what kind of cat actually said the word 'meow'?  
  
Maria approched the bushes. "Hello? I know your not a cat. So just come out, okay?"  
  
And thats exactly what the meowing somebody did. Once Maria was within several feet of the hedge, the 'meowing somebody' sprung from the bushes and pounced on Maria. Maria screeched as she fell backwards onto the lawn, the 'meowing somebody' on top of her. The 'meowing somebody' kissed her playfully on the cheek and took off, laughing.  
  
Maria sat up. She recognised that laugh. "Harris..." a second later, she was on her feet, pursuing him. It wasn't too terribly difficult to follow him in the bright moon light. Within a minute, she had caught up to him. Without thinking, she pounced on him from behind, knocking Harris to the ground. "I've got you now..." Maria whispered into his ear, trying to restrain herself from bursting into fits of laughter.  
  
"No, you don't..." replyed Harris, arching his back and letting Maria slide down. He began to trudg towards the forests edge, still laughing. He had only gone a few feet when he collapsed in a fit of laughter.  
  
At that point Maria's restrain failed, and she too burst into a fit of laughter. She couldn't remember ever having laughed so hard. A few minutes later, after they had both calmed down, Maria slid herself along the ground, right next to Harris. They looked into each others eyes, and began to laugh again.  
  
Harris slowly reached out for Maria's hand, and firmly grasped it in his own hand. For the first time in her life, Maria felt like she was truely loved. She tightened her own grip on Harris's hand, never wanting to let it go, ever.  
  
They looked up into the heavens, and gazed at the beautiful vastness of it. It wasn't perfectly clear because of the moons brightness. But that was something that they could live with. Just then, a shooting star streaked across the sky.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Harris awoke to a sudden knocking on his cabin door. He looked around the dimly lit room. The only two sources of light were coming from the cracks of a boarded up window, and the blank screen of his television set. He found Maria curled up with him on his love seat, and a bowl of spilled popcorn on the floor. The night before, they came here after an hour or so of star gazing and watched a late night film. They must have fallen asleep near the end.  
  
"Harris!" called the mayor from the front door as he knocked again. "Harris, wake up you lazy oaf!"  
  
Harris tried gently wiggling his lap out from under Maria, so as not to wake the black haired, sleeping beauty. He got so his feet and stumbled to the door.  
  
"Harris! Open up!" It was at this point that it fully sunk in who was at the door. Mayor Thompson, Maria's dad.  
  
"Crap!" muttered Harris, figuring that the Mayor was here regarding Maria. What would he think if he found out that Maria had spent the night here? What would he do? Harris, being a rather honest person, mentally resolved to tell the truth if he was asked. It would most likely save both him and Maria a lot of unnessisary grief. "Hello..." Harris muttered groggily as he opened the door a crack.  
  
"Harris. Finally. I'm here to inform you that we are having an emergency meeting at the town square right around noon. That'll give you about an hour to get ready."  
  
"What's the meeting about?" asked Harris.  
  
"The survival of our town," replied the Mayor. Harris raised an eyebrow. "Look, everything will be explained at the meeting. See you there." And with that, the Mayor left.  
  
Harris sighed with relief. The Mayor hadn't asked about Maria. Although they had absolutley nothing to hide, Harris had been hoping, even praying, that the Mayor wouldn't bring up Maria in their conversation. And he hadn't.  
  
Maria walked up to Harris and wrapped her arms around Harris's chest, resting her head on his shoulders. "Goodmorning," she whispered. "Who was that at the door?"  
  
Harris gently gripped Maria's arms and sighed. "Your father..."  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
  
"Now, I know you are all wondering why I called this emergency meeting," said Mayor Thompson. He looked out over the crowd that sat on the chairs set up in the town square, and as far as he could see, everyone was here. "As you may know, the village is in severe debt. Nearly 550 000 dollars in debt. For the past 25 years, we have made no progress in paying this off. We have only been able to pay off most the yearly interest. As most of you may know, this debt is about as old as the village itself. We had to borrow this money in order to purchase this island from the mainland government. The bank has been extremely patient with us, but their patience has growing thin. They want this debt paid off within the next three and a half years. Other wise, the island, and everything we own on it will be taken. Our homes, our belongings, our livestock... everything..."  
  
There were some gasps that come fourth from the citizens as the mayor said this, and the people began to murmer.  
  
"Ahem... Can I have your attention please?" asked the Mayor as he banged his small gavel on the pedistal at which he stood. "We have been offered an easy way out. I got a phone call last night from a vacation resort development agency. They have offered to buy the land from us for 1 million dollars. I almost said yes, but I asked the representative of the company that had called me to give me some time to decide. And that is why I bring it to you. For this is not my village alone, but it is equally yours as well."  
  
"Well, if we are that far in debt, what good does it do trying to get out on our own?" asked Duke, the local bar tender. Duke was one of the oldest men still living in the village. He wore a purple vest, black pants, and a black streak up his grey hair.  
  
"Yes, it will be very hard, and risky. At least with the development agency, we have a way out without losing everything. But... I have done considerable thinking... and I have concluded that if we all pitch in every cent that we earn and limit our spending, we can pull it off. It would involve selling just about all of our produce, save for the ammount that we need to sustain ourselves, and everything that we can spare," said the mayor.  
  
"Will it still be enough to pay it off?" asked the plump Mr. Miller.  
  
"I don't know," replied the mayor solomly. "It is at the mercy of the weather, and... Jack"  
  
* * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Jack walked up the concrete steps of his parents house, and rang the doorbell. He hadn't been here since the day he left for his grandpa's funeral. It must have been at least two, maybe three weeks ago. Jack found it difficult to keep track of time at the island. There seemed to be very little point in doing so. Jack waited for about a minute, and after a moment, a startling revelation dawned on him. 'This is my house, well, sort of. I don't need to knock...' Suddenly the door opened up, and there was his father. Ed Davis. "Hi dad," said Jack.  
  
"Jack...? What in the blazes are you doing here?"  
  
"Can I come in?"  
  
"Ah yes. You run away to that island there and stay without telling us, and then you come crawling back home, and ask to come in. Yes, well, might as well... considering you actually bothered to come all of this way..."  
  
"Er... thanks," said Jack as he walked in after his dad. He sniffed the air as he entered the building. It smelled sort of stale, and had the faint aroma of second hand smoke. "Not exactly the warm welcome I was hoping for..." said Jack as he looked around the messy living room. There were empty pizza boxes strewn about, and empty beer cans and bottles stacked in every nook and cranny. "Where's mom?"  
  
"Uh, she's on one of her buisness trips," replied Ed as he sauntered over to the old, yellow fridge and took out a couple bottles of beer. "You want one?" he asked, looking over his shoulder to Jack.  
  
"Sure," replied Jack. Jack caught the bottle that was tossed to him. He put the lid of the bottle between his teeth, and promptly tore it off.  
  
"So... hows the farm?" asked Ed. He leaned against the kitchen counter, and also removed the bottle cap in the same manner as Jack had done. It was a sort of tradition that he and Jack used to have. Jack would used to Joke about Ed getting dentures, and having to switch to a bottle opener.  
  
"It needs work. Lots of it. Although the house is still in prime shape," replied Jack.  
  
"Ah, yes. Good, very good." Ed took a swig from his bottle. "I suppose I should get around to asking, what brings you here?"  
  
"Well, I figured that I should let someone know where I am. And... I did leave my stuff here."  
  
"Hmm..."  
  
"Anyway, it's great living there. The people are really friendly, the air is so clean, and it's rather quiet..." Jack sighed happily as he thought about the island. Then he frowned. "Dad, why didn't you come to Grandpa's funeral?"  
  
"I didn't know the man."  
  
"What do you mean, you didn't know the man."  
  
"Exactly that. He may have been my father, and we may share similar genetic trates, but thats where our similaritys end." He took another gulp of his beer, and looked over to Jack. "You haven't hardly touched your beer," said Ed, changing the subject.  
  
Jack looked down at it. "Oh, right." He took a small swallow.  
  
"Oh come on now, thats hardly even worth all the trouble of swallowing, you got to swallow in large quantitys, like this." Ed chugged the last half of his bottle down.  
  
Jack chuckled at his dads interesting logic. He set his nearly full bottle down. "If you don't mind, I'd like to get a little rest. It's been a long day," said Jack as he headed towards the staircase that lead towards his room.  
  
"Yeah, what ever." Ed rubbed his beer belly and groaned. "Maybe large quantities isn't such a hot idea..." he murmered as he made his way over to the large easy chair that sat in front of the television set.  
  
A/N: I am really sorry that it took something like three or four months to get around to doing this chapter. I will try and get more up more frequently from now on. Anyway, I have a special thank you to hand out. Thank you "I am Me" for your reveiw. If that review hadn't come in, chances are that I wouldn't have gotten around to continuing on this story for quite a while longer. I also want to thank all of those who listened to me tell my story at camp, and give me thumbs up and other encouragement. And I'd also like to thank Jesus for everything he has done for me. I was thinking about writing a history of this chapter, but I don't think I will. So, until next time, please read and review. 


	6. In The City

It was just too hard to concentrate on the task at hand. Dan just couldn't quite do it right. Perhaps he was just tired. Yes, maybe that's it, Thought Dan. Maybe a good nights sleep would help. In the morning he could fix the speakers. Dan looked around the living room. The room was dimly lit by the light coming in through the front window from a street light. Perhaps, thought Dan, I should just lie down over there, on that green couch. Perhaps it just didn't matter where I lay down.  
  
Slowly, Dan began to rise to his feet. They felt very weak, and after taking a couple of steps, he collapsed. Moving over to the couch was going to be a far greater challeng than he had originally planned for. Once again, he slowly hauled his feeble body to its feet, and once again, he fell forward. This time, the room began to spin. Faster and faster. He felt as if he were going to be flung against a wall from the apparent centralfugical forces. The room began to glow, dimly at first, but then brighter, and brighter. Every noise in the room seemed to become amplified to excruciating levels. The clock ticking, and ticking, and ticking. Louder and louder the noises grew, and all of a sudden, everything was still, and dark, and quiet.  
  
Jack laughed. He simply could not remember the last time he laughed so hard with someone. Jenna and himself quickly crossed the quite, residential streets. The sun was just on the verge of rising, giving the sky a beautiful dark blue gradient. The streets were relatively quiet, the silence only broken by Jack and Jenna's laughter, and the occasional baying of dogs in the distance.  
  
"So, do you like living on that island of yours?" asked Jenna, changing the subject.  
  
Jack sighed as he thought for a moment. "It's all right. The people are friendly, and the environment is wonderful. It's just that there's a lot of, religion."  
  
Jenna nodded understandingly. "Ah, religion. I see. What kind of religion?"  
  
"Only two that I know of. The one is Christianity, and the other is some sort of Harvest Goddess worship. Personally, I don't care for either."  
  
"So it's like some sort of religious island?"  
  
"Kind of. Most everybody there is part of one religion or another. From what I understand, that's why my father left in the first place."  
  
"Hmm," replied Jenna as they left the street lamp lit streets, and started down a darkened ally.  
  
"Why are we going down the ally?" asked Jack.  
  
"It's just faster way to get to my house."  
  
"I see."  
  
After a moment, Jenna opened a tall, wooden gate. As they walked across her back yard the motion dector lights activated, flooding the backyard with beams of incandescent light. Jack squinted as his eyes adjusted to the new light. Jenna removed a key from her purse, and unlocked the back door, and the two proceeded to enter the building. She flicked on the kitchen light, plopped her purse down on the table, and headed for the fridge. "Do you want anything to drink?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
Jenna opened the fridge and noticed that the box of beer was already open. "Hmm... that's strange."  
  
"What's strange?"  
  
"I bought that twelve pack of vodka just last night, and four of the bottles are already missing."  
  
"You drank four bottles of vodka?" Jack asked jokingly as he leaned against her green counter top.  
  
"No. I didn't. I was saving those for the party tonight," replied Jenna as she closed the fridge door, and walked into the living room. She stepped through the door that joined the living room to the kitchen, reached over, and turned on the lights. She let out a startled shriek.  
  
"What?" Jack asked as he walked over to her. "Oh..." he said as he saw what she saw.  
  
Jenna walked over to the shivering, unconscious man lying on her living room floor and knelt down beside him. Fortunately for him, he was lying on his side, or else he would have drown in his own vomit. But his breathing was shallow, and laboured.  
  
Jack noted that there was a half dissasembled sterio in one corner, as well as a broken set of speakers and two empty bottles of vodka. Furthermore, the front door was open about an inch. "Do you know him?" asked Jack.  
  
"Yes. He's Dan, my... boyfriend." She replied, hesitant to admit that she knew this drunken man at all.  
  
Suddenly, the unconscious man began to convulse as he vomited, again.  
  
"Gross!" cried Jack, jumping about a foot backwards.  
  
"Come on, help me get him into the shower," said Jenna, placing her hands into his armpits.  
  
"Why the shower?" asked Jack as he grabbed Dan by the ankles.  
  
They lifted him, and began to move him down the hallway.  
  
"Oof! He's heavy! What does he eat, bricks?"  
  
Jenna ignored the second question. "I once heard that you can sober somebody up by putting them into a shower."  
  
Jack nodded as he thought about it. He remembered that he had once heard that too. "Is the water supposed to be hot, or cold?"  
  
"So, just how exactly do you plan on getting in?" Ann whispered to Karen as they ran across the darkened path to Jacks house.  
  
Karen merely grinned as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a shoelace, from which an old, rusty key was dangling.  
  
"You stole Jacks key?!" Ann gasped.  
  
"Ssssh!" Said Karen looking around cautiously, making sure they were not being watched. "No! Don't be silly! His grandpa gave it to me several years before he died," replied Karen. "It was so I could let myself in to do housework when he was gone to the mainland for the weekend." Karen slid the key into the keyhole, and unlocked the door with a satisfying click. "There we go..." she said as she swung the wooden door open.  
  
"Now, where did you say this letter of his was?" asked Ann.  
  
"I don't know where he put it. We'll have to look." Karen began to search the house, along with Ann. They looked under the matress, in the cupboards, under the bed, and any other common locations. Karen finally plopped down on the couch as the sun began to peer through the window and into the room. "It's not here..." she groaned.  
  
"Come on Karen, I think that we should get out of here," said Ann, looking nervously out the window.  
  
"Oh come on! What could possibly happen? It's not like anyone will be coming to visit him anytime soon, he's gone for at least a few more days."  
  
"Karen, I really, really think that we should get out of here, now..." said Ann, as Karen got up from the couch, and went to look out the window.  
  
"No..." Karen muttered under her breath. "Your Dad... But what's he doing here?  
  
"He agreed to feed Jacks animals while he was away."  
  
"So? That just means that he won't be coming into the house."  
  
Ann didn't answer.  
  
"Ann?"  
  
"Get down. He's coming."  
  
Karen began cursing under her breath. "We've got to find someplace to hide."  
  
The two began looking around frantically, when the front door suddenly opened.  
  
Jack sat on a red chair in the hospitals lobby. There wasn't much in the lines of reading material except for old magazines, as well as health booklets, none of which he currently took an interest in. He dug around in his backpack, looking for anything that he might of brought that would be of some interest. There were a couple of adult magazines that he picked up at 7-eleven earlier that evening, but right now he wasn't in the mood for it. His hands suddenly felt the paper envelope containing the letter from his grandfather. "Huh, I could have sworn I left this at home..." He sighed, and decided to try reading it. Perhaps, if nothing else, to honor his grandpa's memory.  
  
He skipped over the first few pages of introductory and began to read it.  
  
"When I was 18, I joined the army. I felt it was my duty to fight the Nazis. My parents tryed the best to persuade me that life would be much better on the farm, woking to help support the family. But, I felt that it was my duty to fight for my country. I went and applied for the army, and left on the next bus to the nearest military base. There isn't a whole lot to tell about the training except that it was hard work. I made a few friends during this time. Unfortunately, most of them were killed out on the battle fields, or missing in action.  
"Once I finished my battle training, I went across the seas, and began my time as a real soldier. I spent the next 6 months fighting in the trenches, fighting what seemed to be a hopeless battle. I would watch as many of my fellow comrads came in, and died of blood loss, disease, and other battle wounds. For a while, I began to feel as if I might actually be invinsible, and indestructable. But then it happened, the Germans got reinforcments, and began to break through the front lines. Many of our men were mortally wounded by tank shells, and left to die a slow, and painful death. Others had every bone in their body crushed by tanks. It angered me immensly to see my friends being brutally murdered by these people.  
"However, not all of us were killed. Some people managed to escape. Still others, such as myself, were caught, and put into labour camps, and concentration. I thought that life in the muddy, disease ridden trenches was bad. I would have gladly returned to fighting in the trenches if it meant that I could leave that concentration camp that I was at.  
"As we tried to get on with life in this concentration camp, I again made friends. Most of the were Jewish people that were kind enough to help us get through our first few months there. I can still remember the screams of on particular family, as they were buried alive. In the months previous, I had gotten to know this family very well, and had grown very close to them. In my anger, I began attacking those German soldiers that were burrying my friends. Hatered burned in heart against them, and I fought futily to save them. I noticed, as one soldier grabbed me and brought me eye to eye with him, that he seemed fairly intoxicated. Almost as if he was drunk. That was the last thing that I remembered. He punched me solidly in the jaw, and I took a fall, and hit my head against a jeep.  
"I must have lay there in the rain and mud for hours afterwards. I was very lucky that I wasn't killed right there and then. I believe that Jesus was watching over me that day. When I came to, I was in a reasonably comfortable bed. I had a terriable cold, a nasty concusion, a cracked jaw. I was constantly under the watchful eye of a woman named Martha. She was a German girl, probably a year or two younger than I was. The reason her and her family was here was that they opposed Hitler.  
"When I became coherent about a week after the whole incident with the German officer, she told me that her father had dragged me in, and was doing everything that he could to help me. I found the fact that she spoke english to be very comforting."  
  
"Hey Jack," said Jenna as she sat down in a chair right beside him.  
  
"Hey," he replied looking up from the letter.  
  
"The Doc says he should be okay now, but wants to keep him overnight. He also said that showers do NOT sober people up."  
  
"I see. I guess you'll have to remember that the next time you find Dan lying, drunk on your floor."  
  
"Uh huh... Well, I'm counting on it never happening again."  
  
"Oh really, why's that."  
  
"Once he's sobered up more, I'm going to break off our realationship. Anyway, what's that you're reading there?" Jenna asked, trying to change the subject.  
  
"Oh, it's just a lengthly letter from my grandfather. He wrote it a few years before he died."  
  
"I see... How's it coming?"  
  
"Fine. Just fine. Well," Jack said, returning the letter to his pack. "do you want to head back to your place?"  
  
"No. Lets go get some breakfast. Does McDonalds sound fine to you?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
AN: I think that this chapter is way overdue. Sorry that it took so long (almost a year). Anyway, if you want another chapter, and I'm not delivering, give me a review or something to get me motivated. I will have a fairly busy summer, but I will try to work on this story more. Anyway, please read and review. Constructive critisism is always welcome, as well as other comments and words of encouragement. 


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